On 12 September 2012 18:32, Jim Redmond <jim(a)scrubnugget.com> wrote:
On Wed, Sep 12, 2012 at 12:15 PM, Fred Bauder
<fredbaud(a)fairpoint.net
wrote:
VIPs expect to deal with another VIP, with
authority to get things fixed,
with a word, even if the rules have to be bent a bit. That is the way of
the world. We, particularly a random community member they are
interacting with, often do not have authority to do what has to be done.
They do not understand or appreciate discussions with the community about
their problem.
For what it's worth, this is not just a VIP behavior. Most people assume
that Wikipedia has centralized control over content, and they want Someone
In Charge to fix things for them. (cf. all the people who e-mail Jimbo
asking him to make changes, or the people who volunteer for OTRS because
they want to fix errors on pages) It's difficult to correct these
assumptions, even after pointing out the big "edit" tab at the top of
nearly every page.
And most people don't read instructions. And I suppose people who follow
the "Contact Wikipedia" link take no notice of the content of the page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us
which says these things. There is nothing on that page about VIP treatment,
and I don't think there should be. If something gets into OTRS and is from
a household name, it would be sensible to have it passed to someone with a
lot of experience, but I don't know if that is part of the system.
(I do find a certain irony that Fred started this thread, given his
previous comments about monarchy. The whole "celebrities expect to be
treated like royalty" thing strikes me as mainly a Hollywood invention.
Actual royalty - bred to it - are the last to kick up a fuss in this
fashion. So arriviste.)
Charles